MURCHISON ­– The Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch, known for being the home of burros and horses that have been abused and neglected, joined with the Humane Society to rescue three tigers and two hybrid wolves from a roadside zoo in Mississippi.

A total of 11 animals were rescued from the Collins Zoo in Collins, Miss. late Wednesday after an in-depth investigation. Five of the animals were transported to the Murchison ranch while other sanctuaries took in the remaining six animals.

“Cleveland was always in the belief that any animal, regardless whether or not it was a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore, deserves a life free of cruelty. We have had many species here, although we did start out as a burro and horse rescue,” Black Beauty Ranch Director Ben Callison said. “We have evolved to have chimps, cougars and bobcats. All these animals deserve sanctuary and a chance to live a cruelty free life. I think Cleveland would be proud of what we have done today and we know that it was always his vision to help those animals in need. We love diversity here, we have 48 species, and we will accept any animal that is in need and these guys are a prime example of that.”

The rescue comes after the Humane Society of the United States conducted an in-depth undercover investigation and submitted legal complaints to the state documenting serious animal welfare issues as well as public safety concerns at the Collins Zoo. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks served a search and seizure warrant at the Collins, Miss. property that allowed them to seize three tigers, three cougars, two leopards, two wolf-hybrids and one Macaque monkey due to violations of state permit requirements.

Callison said Black Beauty Ranch was prepared to be the home of four adult tigers but one died before the seizure took place.

“The animals at the Collins Zoo have been forced to live in inhumane conditions for many years, and The Humane Society of the United States is relieved to finally be able to rescue these animals and help them begin new lives in appropriate sanctuaries,” said Lydia Sattler, Mississippi state director for The HSUS. “The situation at the unaccredited Collins Zoo is a prime example of the animal cruelty and public safety concerns that stem from our country’s unregulated exotic animal industry. This should be a wake-up call to lawmakers and communities around the country to crack down on the casual ownership of dangerous wild animals.”

In late 2009, The HSUS conducted an undercover investigation at Collins Zoo and then submitted legal complaints to the MDWFP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The investigation uncovered injured and malnourished animals and flimsy enclosures, including venomous snakes being held in unlocked enclosures accessible to the public. Since The HSUS’ investigation, conditions at the Collins Zoo remain poor.

When responders entered the property they found the animals housed in small pens with little space and no enrichment for these animals. These animals were underweight and suffering from a variety of medical ailments.

“We often times will see these types of roadside zoos with signs posted for people to stop and we ask for people to not visit these type of places because you are supporting this type of situation,” Callison said. “If you are going to go to a zoo, go to an accredited zoo. We ask that people support laws that stop exotic ownership of pets. These guys are not pets, they shouldn’t be pets. I believe what we saw in Ohio is a prime example of that.”

The HSUS provided animal handling, transportation and placement assistance for the rescue. Carolina Tiger Rescue of Pittsboro, N. C. provided sanctuary for one cougar and two leopards. Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation of Kendalia, Texas will house two of the seized cougars. Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary of Dilley, Texas is providing sanctuary for the macaque monkey.

“This was a two-year investigation and it took us two years to get these guys out of there. If we had the correct laws this would have never happened in the first place,” Callison said.

The hybrid wolves, which seemed more like playful dogs in their temporary home in Murchison, will be transported to a facility in the northern United States in April.

Callison said he is unsure what will happen with the tigers once the HSUS investigation is complete, but he did make it clear he will do whatever is in the best interest of the large animals.

“We will do whatever is in the best interest of the tigers. If we can give them the habitat that they deserve long term then we will do that. If another sanctuary is indicated that can provide them something better than what we can, it is in the tiger’s best interest. It is all about them,” he said.

Tyler is the home of the Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge and several big cats including tigers, lions and cougars, but Callison believes the facility is one of many in the nation that are overcrowded.

“I am not aware that Tiger Creek was contacted. There were quite a few sanctuaries contacted but they were full. I know this is a huge problem and that is why we had to step in and create these temporary enclosures,” he said. “Almost every single tiger sanctuary right now is at max capacity with the reality that in Texas there are more tigers in captivity with private ownership than there are left in the wild. This is a huge problem, one we don’t always realize is here, but it is worse in Texas that it is anywhere else. Although these guys were rescued in Mississippi, this is very much a Texas and nationwide problem. We need to work to resolve that.”

The male tiger, which took seven men to transport into the holding facility after tranquilization, has a few injuries the Ranch is looking into while the two female tigers both appear to be better shape.

“It is still early and they have just come out of the rescue. We don’t have all of their blood work back yet so we don’t exactly know what true condition they are in,” Callison said. “The initial physical evaluations are promising but we will have to find out more once we get the medical information back.”

According to Mississippi’s 16 WAPT News, the owners of the Collins Zoo are Gus and Betty White and they plan to fight to get the animals back. That fight might be tough as officials have said the couple discarded paperwork on several of the animals once they were aware the seizure would take place.

Callison said some animals remain at the zoo and could not be seized by the organization because the seizure only allowed for exotic animals. Some of the remaining animals include poisonous snakes which were reportedly in unlocked cages.